my crafty adventures

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About me

Welcome to my blog! My name is Jessica, and I'm a music professor from Kentucky. This blog details my journey into DIY style. I love to sew and knit my own clothes, and I'm a dedicated thrift store shopper! I also love fashion, so I'm attempting to marry my interests without causing myself to go bankrupt. I love bright colors, full skirts, and vintage styles. I love to answer questions, and I can be reached by email at jmills01@gmail.com.

Goodreads

Vogue 8827: recital dress

This was not a fun project at all, but I must admit that I love the results! 8827 was my initial favorite from the fall vogue patterns – I like the loose silhouette and the asymmetrical drape. It looked very modern, and I immediately pegged the long version as a great informal recital dress. I’m going on tour again this spring (in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and I need dresses that look elegant but will not wrinkle. To that end I picked up a polyester peachskin.

Peachskin isn’t exactly fun to sew, but it is better than most polyester fabrics IMO. My advice for sewing peachskin:

1. Use a Microtex needle (to avoid skipped stitches)

2. Pin Sparingly (because pin marks are permanent!)

3. Best for drapey styles (does not really hold a crease).

4. It will pucker when you sew, but it goes away with ironing (use steam!) Works better with the serger.

5. Attracts static like mad!

I constructed most of the dress on my serger. As I said above, the fabric puckers, but I had no issue pressing that out. I had a little more trouble on the seams that had to be sewn on the machine.

I had issues with the pattern. It’s fairly well drafted, but the instructions are a bit nonsensical. I would not recommend, no matter what it says, making this from a jersey – there is a lot of hand sewing and pressing that will not work! I topstitched the front edges to attempt to keep them in place – between that, the belt, and being caught in the hem they stay well. The pattern wants you to slip stitch them to the dress, which might work on the short version, but there’s no way it wouldn’t pull at this length and weight. I removed a good 2.5″ of ease from the sleeve caps (peachskin does not ease, nope.) My belt is quite a bit longer than called for – I wrapped it twice and tied in the front like an obi. This keeps it secure without the need for a closure on the outside (the insides are closed with a piece of ribbon sewn to the seam allowances.

You can see that it has a little static issue above – it’s better with tights. It seems to be a time of conquering fears – both this and my coat contain my biggest sewing issue, the inset corner. I found this video from threads and want to try it, but I can’t buy cotton organdy locally. I will have to get some and try it out! This time I managed, but it isn’t the best looking collar ever.

I do recommend the pattern, because I love the style, but it’s probably good to be forewarned that the directions aren’t the greatest. I’m very excited to wear this to sing!

Wow, that turned out amazing! I may have to remember this pattern for a future choir gown. The first thing I made for myself last December was a choir gown, which is a bit ambitious for a first project, but it turned out and now I have the most unique, fun-to-wear garment for our performances, too. I used New Look 6000 made floor length out of black wool blend crepe or suiting with black velvet for the collar and cuffs. I love it! But I am sure sometime down the road I’ll get the itch to try something new and this one you’ve made is very modern and elegant.

When I scrolled down to the first photo and saw your big smile and the great dress, my first thought was “Fabulous!” Your smile speaks of feeling really great about yourself in that dress which will obviously transfer itself to your singing. Great job. Happy Tunes.

What a stunning dress! I made my own long black concert dress about four or five years ago, I know how difficult it is to find a pattern which is elegant, comfortable (ie room to sing and breathe in) and not over the top and also fabric which won’t crease when it’s stuck in a case/bag for ages. I love this! Wonder if it’s time for a new concert dress for me? 🙂

Beautiful dress! It suits you perfectly. Thanks for the tips about sewing with peachskin. I have some that is going to be a skirt for my daughter. One question: did you line your dress? If so, with what?

I am here because of a Google search on “Vogue V8827.” Your results came out very well! My wife is sewing that pattern this afternoon and she says they made a mistake on the pattern, something to do with piece 7, where one of the pieces should be flipped but is shown not to be flipped on the cutting pattern. You are not the only one to have difficulties with this pattern!

Totally late to the party but I adore how your version of this pattern turned out. I think for me, te best part is the way your fabric looks – the almost suede/velvety sheen is just so gorgeous. You look effortlessly elegant in it!